Apple is spending $5bn on a new campus, but what it really needs is a $200K Sandbox

Forget about being insanely great, Apple's plans for a new spaceship campus are becoming insanely expensive.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports hearing from five sources close to the project that the budget for the new campus has surged from $3 billion when it was first proposed in 2011 to $5 billion now. That works out to be about $1,500 per square foot, according to Businessweek, which is more than most high-end office spaces.

So what is it Apple should be doing (with just a fraction of) that money?

Well, if you follow the logic of Kosta Peric, head of innovation at SWIFT and author of The Castle and The Sandbox, Apple should be spending their lucre on building an open innovation environment where all of their staff can experiment with the next generation of great ideas and disruptive products.

Think Nokia, think Kodak, think Polaroid ... once mega successful companies that were unable to maintain their position as industry leaders in fast changing tech environments.

Huge cash reserves, great products in the now, and a big brand ... it doesn't mean much once you've been disintermediated.